


A Kiss to Last a Lifetime

by Celestial_Shadow



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Spies & Secret Agents, Angst with a Happy Ending, Aobajousai, Feelings, Friends to Lovers, Iwaizumi Hajime in Love, Iwaizumi Hajime is Bad at Feelings, Iwaizumi Hajime is a Good Friend, M/M, Mission Fic, Oblivious Oikawa Tooru, Pining Iwaizumi Hajime, Slow Burn, Ushijima is a dick, kind of?, no beta we die so Matsukawa can have our bodies, until the end anyway
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-04
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:34:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25698892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Celestial_Shadow/pseuds/Celestial_Shadow
Summary: One mission was all it took.Iwaizumi and Oikawa have been secret agents for the national security agency of Japan for the past 9 years. Their unrivaled friendship fueled their success, making them an unstoppable duo who were some of the top agents in Japan.And yet, one mission caused everything to crumble apart.This was the mission that changed their entire relationship, forever.
Relationships: Hanamaki Takahiro/Matsukawa Issei, Iwaizumi Hajime & Oikawa Tooru, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru
Comments: 7
Kudos: 118





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Can you believe this entire idea came from a meme I saw?

“Your mission this time is to infiltrate a criminal organization by the name of Nekoma. They’re hosting a dinner event for potential business partners, but it's likely to be just a coverup for an underground transportation of illegal substances and weapons.” Ushijima said, flipping through his clipboard of notes to make sure he didn’t miss anything.

Iwaizumi and Oikawa stood side by side in front of Ushijima, listening to their assigned case. They had been partners for their career as secret agents for seven years now. At the age of 26, both of them were incredibly experienced in their fields. They were special agents for the National Security Agency of Japan, called “Aoba Johsai”. Both Iwaizumi and Oikawa had grown up together since they were kids, and both of them joined the agency when they were 18.

When they had initially joined, the agency had split them up and given them different partners, worried that their prior connection to each other may hinder them on missions or allow their emotions to get in the way of their objective. However, a year later neither of their partnerships worked out, so they had requested each other as a partner and after a careful decision, the bureau had allowed it. 

It was the best decision ever made.

Once they were paired up, they were unstoppable. The two of them blasted through missions with ease; their unrivaled friendship only aided them in their assignments. They complemented each other so well that they easily became some of the top ranking agents in the organization.

“Nekoma will be having a formal dinner party on September 14th, two weeks from now. Both of you will have received invitations as guests there, but your job will be to find out what their underground activity is. It is crucial that you maintain the identities given to you. This is a stealth mission. Only information will be gathered, and we will dismantle them on a later date. Is this understood?” 

“Yes, Ushijima-san.” Oikawa gritted his teeth. Ushijima got on his nerves. Actually, Ushijima got on both Oikawa and Iwaizumi’s nerves. As much as they acknowledged his skill and power in the organization, it irked them that he was _always_ one step ahead of them. Always a few points ahead, always that much out of their reach. 

Normally it wouldn’t be an issue. Oikawa and Iwaizumi both knew when people were above them in skill, and they respected that. They knew their place in the organization and acted accordingly.

However, Ushijima always acted like his position wasn’t a big deal. He was _the top agent_ in Aoba Johsai. He was at such a high ranking that he was only called on for the major missions needed. Otherwise, he usually aided the higher ups in overseeing other, lower-ranking agents. Whenever he was asked what he did or if he had any tips, Ushijima simply regarded them with a blank stare and said that he just does his job. 

He always said, “If you wish to get higher up, just do better.” 

As if everyone else _wasn’t_ trying their best?

It irritated Oikawa and Iwaizumi to the core. 

It also didn’t go unnoticed by Oikawa that Ushijima seemed to disregard Iwaizumi more than anyone else, and that was really what got under his skin.

His best friend was one of the top agents in the organization. His hand to hand combat was unmatched. He was always the victor when it came to sparring practice. Even Ushijima had only beaten him three times in their eight years here, and yet he still acted like Iwaizumi wasn’t worthy of the respect or praise given. 

Ushijima was actually Oikawa’s partner when they first joined the organization. Back then, Ushijima had been working for a few years and was steadily climbing the ranks. After being paired up with Oikawa, the two of them had started to shoot up the ranks faster than before. They were both extremely skilled in their fields, but they had extremely different work styles. 

Ushijima worked better as a soloist. He was rather poor at communication, especially when it came to acting and dealing with undercover personas. Oikawa on the other hand, used communication with his partner as one of his main points. He was an excellent communicator. He greatly preferred his partner’s discussion and cooperation to pull off tasks. 

Due to their clashing work ethics, a lot of their missions were extremely messy. Oikawa could not count how many close calls they had regarding completely botching their mission. There had been many accidental deaths of citizens or lower ranking criminals because of the failed communication between him and Ushijima. 

All of that could have been avoided if Ushijima had just _kept up the communication on his end_. Ushijima tended to deviate from the original plan on the fly, and it had cost them a few missions. Oikawa didn’t understand why it was so _difficult_ for the other to simply speak what he was thinking before doing it.

It was exhausting on Oikawa’s end to say the least. He was forced to clean up the missions as much as he could, and the amount of improvisation that was suddenly forced upon him was uncomfortably high.

Eventually he got fed up and decided to file a partner transfer because the amount of stress piled onto him working with Ushijima was too much. It just so happened that around the same time, Iwaizumi's partner had taken pretty bad bullet wounds to their leg, and would be out of commission for at least several months. As much as Oikawa felt bad for Iwaizumi's partner, he immediately jumped on the opportunity and convinced Iwaizumi to request a partner change specifically for Oikawa, and Oikawa would do that same for Iwaizumi. 

The process had taken about three months because the bureau was incredibly reluctant to let agents who had prior connections to each other work together. They were worried that when it came down to it, they would rather sacrifice the mission than each other. The bureau did not care for each individual life, so to them losing a few agents for the sake of a mission was nothing, but losing a mission for the sake of an agent's life was extremely unwelcome.

Ushijima had opted to go solo, and in that way he had risen to becoming the top agent rather quickly.

“You will be going undercover as a pair of businessmen who are interested in possibly investing in the Nekoma organization. You will be partners for a business called ‘Godzillo'. It is a streaming platform for movies and videos. It is also a place for amateurs to publish their own films. The platform works via monthly subscription.

"Godzillo?" Iwaizumi asked, one eyebrow raised. Oikawa knew that the other was secretly trying not to laugh at the similarities to "Godzilla", his favourite movie and character. Oikawa smiled internally.

"Yes. Is there an issue?" 

"No no, just double checking." 

"Listen the first time, and you don't have to." Ushijima stated icily, and Oikawa felt a twitch in his jaw, his anger bubbling to the surface. 

“Is there anything _else,_ Ushijima-san?” Oikawa nearly growled. It was one thing for Ushijima to insult him, but it was on another level to insult his best friend for no reason. It caused his blood to boil. Ushijima regarded him with an expressionless gaze.

“Just one more thing. Kunimi has set up a fake website that you can direct others to. It contains all the necessary information to make it appear as though Godzillo is a real business. Your measurements are needed to create your outfits, so head to the costume department after this. That’s all for now. You are dismissed.”

Iwaizumi and Oikawa sent Ushijima a short nod before turning around and heading towards the costume department.

“He gets on my nerves.” Oikawa scowled as soon as they were out of earshot. Iwaizumi snorted.

“When does he not?” 

“He didn’t have to be such a dick! _’Listen the first time, and you don’t have to.’_ Boo. He’s such a killjoy.” 

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes, a small smile on his face. As much as Oikawa was a well respected member of Aoba Johsai, Iwaizumi was always going to see him as the childish, stubborn boy he grew up with. 

The boy who was scared of the dark, who always made Iwaizumi deal with the insects that got into the house even as they grew older. The boy who was obsessed with sci-fi and fantasy, who was always a stubborn dreamer that refused to let go of his goals.

When Oikawa set his mind to something, it was near impossible to change his mind. 

Despite all this, Iwaizumi had also been there during the worst times. When Oikawa was ready to destroy himself just so he could become one of the top agents in the world, when he felt that he was worth nothing, and his life was so insignificant that no one would notice if he just disappeared. 

Iwaizumi had been around through the good and the ugly, the highs and the lows. 

Despite all this, he continued to stick around.

He stuck around because he wanted to see Oikawa achieve his dreams, he wanted to see the latter cry tears of joy as he was awarded what he deserved.

And to Iwaizumi, Oikawa deserved the world, because to him…

Oikawa was the boy he had fallen in love with.

  
**\-----**

  


He was going to punch Oikawa in the face.

Even though Oikawa was his best friend, it didn't make him any less annoying. 

They were getting their measurements recorded together in the costume department. The large beige room had several enclosed dressing rooms with a slightly raised platform in the middle of the room for measuring clients. Racks and racks of colourful clothes rested on the right side of the room. The tailor was a tall man with long, brown hair, a goatee, and glasses. His name was Asahi Azumane, and he was the head of Aoba Johsai's costume department.

Currently, Iwaizumi stood in the center of the room with his arms raised up as Asahi took his measurements to make a fitted suit. 

"Make sure to make his pants extra tight~ So everyone will be able to see how much Iwa-chan works out. We want to accentuate his muscles! Because you know that's the only thing Iwa-chan has going for him-" 

"Oikawa, I will not hesitate to deck you if you don't shut up right now." 

"Ah, better yet, why don't we just let him go in naked? He can be a distraction and then I can get the information for the mission."

_"Oikawa fucking Tooru you are a dead man. As soon as I'm done I'm going to give you exactly three seconds to run."_

"Ha~ ji~ me~ we both know you love me." 

Iwaizumi scowled, but didn't respond. He allowed Asahi to finish up the last of his measurements.

"Okay, that should be it. Your suits will be ready in a week's time." Asahi said with a smile. 

"Thank you," Iwaizumi said, nodding at Asahi in thanks. He turned to Oikawa, counting in his head. 

_One… Two…_

Oikawa's eyes widened as he realized what Iwaizumi was doing and he started to bolt out of the room.

_Three._

Iwaizumi took off after Oikawa, the other shrieking as Iwaizumi got closer. 

"Iwa-chan I'm sorry I'm sorry I didn't mean it! Don't kill me!"

“I warned you, Shittykawa!” 

They ran past one of the interns, nearly knocking over the stack of folders she had in her arms. 

“Sorry!” Iwaizumi called out as he continued to chase Oikawa. They continued running until Oikawa smacked into a solid wall. 

That wall wasn’t actually a wall, however. It was Matsukawa, one of the agents in the communications sector. Behind him stood Hanamaki, also one of the agents in the communications sector. They just so happened to be Oikawa and Iwaizumi’s friends.

“Mattsun! Makki! Hide me.” Oikawa gasped, hiding behind Matsukawa as Iwaizumi got closer.

“Please step aside.” Iwaizumi muttered, his steely gaze fixated on Oikawa peeking out from Matsukawa’s back.

“What would we get in return?” Hanamaki raised an eyebrow. 

“Makki! Don’t be a traitor.” Oikawa squeaked. 

“I’ll get you guys a pack of cream puffs and a cheese-filled hamburg steak on Monday.” Iwaizumi said.

“Deal.” Both Hanamaki and Matsukawa said immediately, stepping aside to leave Oikawa to Iwaizumi’s wrath.

“Makki! Mattsun! I can’t believe-” Oikawa yelped as Iwaizumi lunged for him. He took off again, running to the training room. Iwaizumi continued to follow, nearly catching up to him. Their footsteps were muffled on the padded floors of the sparring room, and with the horror of realization that he was stuck with nowhere left to run, Oikawa turned around fearfully to see Iwaizumi’s unimpressed face.

“Hey Iwa-chan, let’s not get too hasty now-” Oikawa was cut off as the other male lunged for him, slamming him to the ground. 

Iwaizumi grasped both of Oikawa’s wrists in one of his hands, his legs trapping Oikawa’s legs underneath his weight as he straddled the other. A smug grin settled on his face, and Oikawa felt his stomach drop in response. He was suddenly very aware of the mat sinking in to compensate for their weight, and the warmth that radiated off of his friend that was currently on top of him.

“I- Iwa-chan can’t we just talk and settle this like sophisticated peopl- AH!” Oikawa yelped as Iwaizumi dug his fingers into Oikawa’s side, his blunt fingertips wriggling back and forth. The sensation caused Oikawa’s fingers to twitch erratically, his arms trying to struggle free under Iwaizumi’s iron grip. Oikawa twisted his torso desperately as the laughter bubbled up in his chest, trying to escape the cruel administrations of Iwaizumi’s fingers while attempting to restrain the laughter threatening to explode. 

Oikawa could only hold it for a few seconds before he erupted with high pitched giggling accompanied with desperate gasps of air. His body trembled uncontrollably as he shrieked and begged Iwaizumi to stop. The latter didn’t listen, strengthening his grip on Oikawa’s wrists to keep him pinned as the brunet squirmed around violently to try and get himself free. 

“Hey! Keep the foreplay to the bedroom, _please._ ” Iwaizumi and Oikawa turned to see Hanamaki and Matsukawa standing at the doorway to the sparring room, arms crossed and eyebrows raised. 

Iwaizumi paused the tickling, and Oikawa took the moment to take a massive gasp of breath, managing to get his hands free out of Iwaizumi’s grip. 

“The fuck kinda foreplay are you into?” Iwaizumi questioned Hanamaki, furrowing his brow, sitting up and resting his weight on his heels. 

“We don’t kinkshame here.” Hanamaki teased, smirking. Matsukawa eyed his boyfriend thoughtfully before gently pressing a few of his fingers against the side of Hanamaki’s neck, causing the latter to stiffen up, face turning red and eyes going wide. 

“Disgusting.” Iwaizumi muttered, turning away. 

_“Keep the foreplay to the bedroom, guys.”_ Oikawa mocked, relishing in the embarrassment that radiated off of Hanamaki. 

“Come on guys, we’re supposed to be professional.” Matsukawa chided gently. Hanamaki whipped his head around to glare at his boyfriend.

“ _You’re the one who-_ ” He abruptly shut his mouth and averted his gaze as Matsukawa gave him a _look_ that had even Oikawa and Iwaizumi feeling intimidated.

“I feel like we’ve witnessed something incredibly private, Iwa-chan.” Oikawa muttered. Iwaizumi nodded in response, suddenly feeling very aware that he was still sitting on Oikawa. He quickly got up, dusting himself off and straightening his clothes, trying to suppress the heat that was starting to crawl up his face and ears. 

Even though physical touch wasn’t uncommon at all between the two best friends, Iwaizumi couldn’t stop thinking about the word _foreplay_ that Hanamaki had used to describe what they had been doing. His thoughts easily drifted towards what it would _really_ be like if they actually-

Nope. Now was not the time to be thinking about this.

Iwaizumi and Oikawa walked over to the main office lab where they picked up the files for the mission from their desks before grabbing the rest of their stuff and started to head home.

“I’ll bet you ¥2000 that Makki’s secretly kinky-” Oikawa started as they walked to the train station.

“I’m not taking you up on that. We both know you’re right.” Iwaizumi muttered, shoving his hands into his pockets. Oikawa let out a chuckle as he looked up, facing the evening sky dusted with orange, purple, and pink. 

Iwaizumi couldn’t help but admire the way the colours streaked across his friend’s face. He looked utterly ethereal. His eyes sparkled, reflecting the sunset. The orange light made his face appear as if it was glowing, and Iwaizumi suddenly noticed how strands of his hair bounced gently as he walked, or how at ease Oikawa looked with a tiny smile on his face, just soaking up the atmosphere. 

Iwaizumi had never seen someone look so effortlessly beautiful before.

  
**\-----**

  


The following day during lunch, Hanamaki and Matsukawa were seated at their usual lunch table in the cafeteria, awaiting the arrival of Iwaizumi and Oikawa so they could all eat together. Hanamaki was pressed against Matsukawa’s shoulder, head resting on one of his hands as his other hand scrolled through instagram mindlessly.

Matsukawa took the moment to relish in the calm atmosphere before Iwaizumi and Oikawa arrived. He peered over his boyfriend’s shoulder, a soft smile on his face as he watched Hanamaki scroll through endless memes and cat videos. He leaned his head on Hanamaki, causing the latter to let out a grunt before leaning back against him. 

“Mean! Mean! Iwa-chan’s a bully!” 

… There goes the peaceful atmosphere. 

They both looked up to see Iwaizumi and Oikawa approaching. Oikawa had his tongue stuck out at Iwaizumi, his nose scrunched up and eyes squinted. Iwaizumi rolled his eyes as he dragged Oikawa by the wrist over to their seat.

“Milk bread isn’t a suitable lunch, Trashykawa.”

“Let me eat what I want!” 

“It’s been three days. Eat some vegetables.” 

Oikawa pouted as the both of them slid into their seats, rolling his eyes the same way Iwaizumi had done a few seconds ago. He purposefully turned away from his best friend, crossing his arms.

“What’s-” 

“Iwa-chan won’t let me have my lunch.” Oikawa scowled before Hanamaki had even finished his sentence. Iwaizumi sighed, depositing some vegetables and meat from his own lunch into Oikawa’s lunchbox.

“I’m not saying that, Crappykawa. I’m saying you need to eat something else other than just milk bread. It’s not healthy.” 

Oikawa continued to pout for a few more minutes before begrudgingly taking his chopsticks, picking up a piece of broccoli, and placing it in his mouth the exact same time as Iwaizumi did with his own pair of chopsticks. 

Matsukawa blinked twice before returning to his lunch. 

Next, it was scratching at their nose nearly in sync. Hanamaki stared at them for a moment before turning to his boyfriend, eyebrows raised in a _did you see it too?_ gesture. Matsukawa nodded in confirmation, the both of them watching Iwaizumi and Oikawa for a moment longer before returning to their lunch.

  
**\-----**

  


“What the fuck was that?” Hanamaki muttered to Matsukawa as they settled on the couch in their shared apartment at home. Matsukawa hummed as he reached over to grab a sip of water from the coffee table before leaning back against the couch.

“If you mean that weird orange thing we saw on the sidewalk on our way home, I can’t help you.” 

“What- no,” Hanamaki snorted in amusement, “I’m talking about Iwaizumi and Oikawa during lunch?” 

“Oh, yeah. That was kinda weird. They’ve been doing it more all week.” Matsukawa tapped his fingers on his leg as he pondered the events. 

“I can’t tell if this is some elaborate prank to slowly weird us out or what.” Hanamaki muttered, turning his head to rest in the crook of Matsukawa’s neck, who in turn brought his hand up to run his fingers through Hanamaki’s hair. 

“I don’t know, it doesn’t seem like they’re very aware of it? It also doesn’t look planned. If they had a cue or just followed each other constantly they wouldn’t always time it so perfectly.” 

“That’s true. I’m gonna search for it.” Hanamaki murmurs, pulling out his phone. Matsukawa pressed a gentle kiss to Hanamaki’s hair, feeling completely content. Hanamaki’s legs were strewn sideways across Matsukawa’s lap. He was curled up against his boyfriend, dressed in one of Matsukawa’s soft sweaters and loose fitting pants. 

“Behavioural synchrony. Moving in sync creates feelings of trust and closeness between people. Mirroring is a subconscious occurrence that can create a feeling of comfort because we are designed to be attracted to people who are like us. For an established relationship, mirroring is something that happens naturally.” Hanamaki looked up from reading to glance at Matsukawa, their gazes meeting.

_“Oh my god, they’re in love.”_

Both of them split into grins at the exact same time, stopping for several seconds just to admire each other. 

“A completely different note, but you’re really pretty.” Matsukawa murmured softly, taking in the way Hanamaki’s eyes crinkled at the corners as his smile widened even further, averting his gaze as a blush started to crawl up his face.

“You’re so fucking sappy. It’s disgusting.” 

Both of their hands came up to rest on the back of their necks at the exact same time. Hanamaki’s eyes widened as he realized, causing Matsukawa to tilt his head slightly in confusion.

“What’s up?”

“We just- did the thing.” 

“Oh. Well fuck.” Matsukawa laughed, hands coming to cup Hanamaki’s face, leaning down to press a kiss to his lips, “Guess that means I love you.”

  
**\-----**

  


Both Oikawa and Iwaizumi spent the following week ironing out the details on what they were going to do during the dinner party. True to his word, Ushijima had somehow gotten them invitations to the event. At the end of the week, they received the notification that their suits had been made and were ready for pick up, so they went back into the costume department.

Asahi ruffled through a rack of many clothes before pulling out two suits. Iwaizumi’s suit was an extremely dark navy blue colour. It was so dark that it looked almost black. Oikawa’s suit was a dark burgundy colour made of a material that almost had some sort of sheen to it. Each of their outfits were a five-piece slim fit suit consisting of a dress shirt, dress pants, a vest, a waistcoat, and a tie. They tried them on in the allotted changing rooms to make sure everything fit properly. 

“Iwa-chan you old man hurry up! I wanna see.” Oikawa’s eager voice sounded from the main section of the room. Iwaizumi grumbled as he buttoned up the last button for his suit before stepping out of the changing room, only to stop in his tracks as he saw Oikawa. 

The fitted suit only accentuated his broad shoulders and slim waist. He gave off an air of sophistication and elegance, especially with the pair of black half-rimmed glasses resting on his face. Iwaizumi’s breath caught in his throat as he took in the view of his best friend. Oikawa’s face split into a cheeky grin as he looked at Iwaizumi.

“Very nice Asahi-san! Iwa-chan looks amazing. He’ll definitely attract everyone’s attention.” 

“Oh, but aren’t you supposed to blend in? Would you like me to redo it? If there’s something better you’d like-” Asahi exclaimed nervously, eyes darting back and forth between Oikawa and Iwaizumi.

“Nonsense, Asahi-san! It’s perfect, don’t worry.” Oikawa reassured, turning to the nervous man. Asahi breathed a sigh of relief.

“Okay, well then, I’ll leave them here and you guys can come pick them up again on the 14th.” Asahi declared, scribbling something down onto his notebook. 

“Sounds good. Thanks again Asahi.” Oikawa chirped, glancing over Iwaizumi once more before returning to a dressing room to change back. Iwaizumi quickly did the same, unable to get the image of Oikawa in a suit out of his head. He had looked so good, and there was something about the outfit that made him even more seductive. They both returned the suits to Asahi before exiting the costume department.

They were on their way to meet Kunimi to pick up their fake business cards when Ushijima intercepted them.

“Oikawa, Watari-san wants to go over some of the transportation details for the Nekoma case with you.” 

Oikawa and Iwaizumi paused in their tracks, looking at each other before turning to face Ushijima.

“Okay, come on Iwa-chan.” 

“ _Just_ Oikawa.” 

Oikawa clenched his jaw, taking a breath to calm himself before glaring at Ushijima, “what do you mean **_just_** me? Iwa-chan is part of this case too-”

“It’s fine, Oikawa. I should go pick up the business cards from Kunimi anyway.” Iwaizumi interrupted, refusing to look at either of them. As much as he disliked it, he didn’t need Oikawa creating a scene in the middle of the building. 

“Iwa-chan-” 

“Just go. I’ll meet you at the front later.” Iwaizumi muttered before walking away to meet Kunimi. Oikawa huffed, a scowl on his face as he strided over to the transportation garage.

“Why are you coming along?” Oikawa snapped as Ushijima stepped quietly behind him.

“I’m also a part of the case.” 

“So was Iwa-chan.” 

“Iwaizumi is not currently needed. It is more efficient this way, so more tasks can be done at the same time.” 

Oikawa rolled his eyes and exhaled noisily in response, walking even faster to meet Watari. It irritated him to his core, but he couldn’t argue because _technically_ Ushijima was right. All of what Ushijima had said pertained to making the case as efficient as possible, but Oikawa liked having his best friend by his side. He felt more relaxed and at ease. He felt that he could be his true self without any sense of formality or social etiquette.

“Watari!” Oikawa called out to the garage. Watari peeked out from a door that led to the transportations office, face breaking into a smile when he saw them.

“Oikawa-san! Ushijima-san! Is Iwaizumi-san not with you today?” 

A nerve ticked in Oikawa. So it wasn’t _Watari_ that had wanted Oikawa to meet him alone. A sour taste appeared on his tongue, but Oikawa made sure to keep his face neutral to avoid causing any form of discourse. 

“He went to go pick up something from Kunimi. How can I help you?” Oikawa responded, sending one of his trademarked smiles. 

“I just wanted to double check the vehicle you guys will be using. If you don’t mind, could you do some test runs for me in terms of the communication? I know that’s part of the communications sector but I wanted to make sure the mic on the car can pick up the sounds around it in case we overhear any extra information from the parking lot while you and Iwaizumi-san are inside.” 

“No problem! What do I need to do?” 

“Oh, just stand around the car and talk for a bit, I’m going to make sure all the recording and audio is clear from my setup. I’ll give you guys the cue when I start testing.” 

Oikawa and Ushijima walked over a few metres away from the side of the car, standing in silence for a few moments as they awaited the cue from Watari. 

“You know, you probably would have already become the top agent here if you just went solo.”

Oikawa had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. 

"What exactly are you implying?"

"I'm simply saying that your skill in this field is more than enough to become one of the best if you applied it correctly."

" _Listen here Ushijima,_ I don't know what your issue is, but there is no reason that you know me better than I know myself, so quit _implying_ that I should drop Iwa-chan, because I know that's what this is really about. First of all, I am _already_ one of the top agents here. Secondly, what's your deal anyway? Iwa-chan is a very highly skilled agent that deserves his recognition. He's worked just as hard as anyone else to be where he is today, and none of your not-so-subtle belittling of him will ever change that!" By the end of Oikawa's rant, his fists were balled up in rage as he leaned towards Ushijima to get his point across. His eyebrows were furrowed into a scowl and his voice boomed in the still air. 

"Uh... I was going to give you guys the cue but you looked kinda busy. Good news though, the audio is really clear!" Watari said awkwardly. Oikawa whipped around before hastily stepping away from Ushijima and sending Watari an apologetic smile. 

"Sorry about that, Watari-kun! Just a little stressed today. I apologise for ruining your time." Oikawa bowed his head. Watari quickly put up his hands. 

"No problem at all! The testing went really smoothly, so thank you for that actually, Oikawa-san." 

Oikawa straightened himself up again, clearing his throat, "right, well if you'll excuse me, I have an appointment with Iwa-chan right now." He sent Watari a parting wave before exiting the transportation garage, not sparing Ushijima a glance back.

  
**\-----**

  


"Are you stupid, Shittykawa?" Iwaizumi scowled after Oikawa recounted what had happened in the transportation garage to him on their walk to the train station.

"Ow! Iwa-chan there's no need to hit me. I was defending your honour!" Oikawa whined, pouting as he rubbed his arm. 

"Ushijima is our _superior_ dumbass! If he chooses to report this to the higher ups then you're done for!" Iwaizumi snapped at his best friend. As much as he was secretly flattered that Oikawa had stood up for him like that, he couldn't help but worry about how Oikawa had just jeopardized his career.

“Sorry…” Oikawa looked away at the ground, shoulders sagging slightly. Iwaizumi felt the prickle of guilt in his heart, and he let out a sigh, pursing his lips.

“But… thanks.” He muttered, refusing to meet Oikawa’s eyes when the other whipped around. The brunet’s face split into a wide grin. 

“Iwa-chan!” Oikawa laughed, tackling his friend into a hug, causing them to stumble and nearly fall over, “I knew you loved me.” 

“Whatever.” Iwaizumi muttered, trying to hide the growing blush on his cheeks. Oikawa was a super affectionate person, not afraid to express his love for his friends and initiate physical contact, so Iwaizumi always took it for a grain of salt whenever Oikawa became touchy or used the word “love” between the two of them. 

But he would give up everything to hear Oikawa say "I love you" and truly mean it.


	2. Chapter 2

The 14th of September came way too fast in Oikawa’s opinion. He took a deep breath as he finished straightening his tie before stepping out of the changeroom where Iwaizumi was waiting for him. They were going to meet up with Hanamaki and Matsukawa, who were going to be their communicators for the mission. They would relay information back and forth through hidden microphones, as well as record all of the audio for any possible clues later on. 

Oikawa had to admit, he was nervous. Who wouldn’t be? Nekoma was one of the most powerful business companies in Japan. They combined highly skilled technology with everyday items to make them incredibly efficient. They also invested in several companies that allowed them to profit insanely quickly. Whether it was due to sheer luck or suspicious activity that all the companies they invested in did well remained to be seen. At the head of the organization were Kozume Kenma and Kuroo Tetsurou. They were business partners and the brains behind the Nekoma operation. 

Both of them were known to be incredibly cunning and astute, so if they were able to see through Iwaizumi and Oikawa’s facade even a little bit, they were screwed. 

In fact, it would probably be better for them to avoid interacting with Kozume and Kuroo directly to reduce the risk of them being found out. Mingling with the guests there for a while should be good enough. There were going to be around 200 people attending anyway. It should be relatively unchallenging to blend in.

Matsukawa and Hanamaki handed them a small, thin piece of circular plastic with a tiny chip in the center. This was their hidden microphone. It was around the same size as the fingernail of one’s thumb. The plastic had one side that was adhesive and would stick onto the underside of Oikawa and Iwaizumi’s shirt collar. That way, the microphone would remain hidden and not be obstructed too much by the sound of ruffling cloth.

Any audio the microphone picked up would be transmitted to the communications sector of Aoba Johsai where Hanamaki and Matsukawa would be able to record and communicate with them. They also had a tiny clear earpiece that stuck to the inside of their ears so they could hear whatever information Hanamaki and Matsukawa needed to tell them. The earpiece had a thin clear wire that wrapped around the back of the ear and an adhesive pad that stuck to the skin there to prevent the earpiece from getting stuck inside. 

In addition to that, they were also equipped with a tiny camera on one of the buttons of their suits so Hanamaki and Matsukawa could see what was happening. 

“Okay, so according to what we know so far, if you take the east door exit from the main room, it leads to a maze of hallways that are likely to be patrolled to keep guests contained in the banquet hall. If they’re going to smuggle anything, they’d likely do it on the floor below, in the basement, to avoid running into any wandering guests. Your job will be to get into the basement through the doors facing North, labelled ‘Staff’. We’ll be able to direct you as needed while you’re walking around.” Hanamaki explained, pointing to visuals of the building layout.

“Once you get to the basement level, it’s going to be even more confusing with a lot of dead ends to deter anyone who doesn’t know their way around. At this point we’ll likely have to guide you guys a little more around here. We don’t know what route they’ll be using to smuggle things, so keep your ears and eyes peeled for any activity when you’re down there.” Matsukawa added, his usual relaxed expression morphed into one that was strict and serious. 

"And… be careful." Matsukawa said, his voice going soft. Iwaizumi swallowed as emotion flowed through him. It wasn’t often that Matsukawa got like this. He was usually very relaxed and easy-going, making teasing jokes and keeping the atmosphere light, while ensuring that it did not get out of hand. For him to be expressing his concern like this had Oikawa and Iwaizumi realizing the seriousness of this case. Of course, all cases were taken seriously, but this made them remember how much danger there was in this mission. One misstep could have them in bloodied pieces on the floor. Nekoma was extremely powerful. No one would be able to help if they got themselves in trouble.

Iwaizumi and Oikawa both sent a nod to Matsukawa before heading out to the back where the company issued vehicle was waiting for them. They drove to the banquet location, occasionally chatting with Hanamaki and Matsukawa just to ensure that their microphones and earpieces were working properly.

They parked in the allotted parking lot, stepping out of the car and following the crowd of people inside. At the entrance they had to go through metal detectors that thankfully weren’t sensitive enough to detect the tiny amounts of metal in their microphones and earpieces. There were a lot of staff who identified the guests and aided them to their assigned seats. Dinner was to be served first, and then there would be a period of time to mingle and socialize. 

Everyone was dressed to their best. Suits, dresses, and expensive accessories were among the common types of clothing worn tonight.

Iwaizumi and Oikawa chatted with the other guests as they ate dinner, going under the aliases of “Iwatani Toshio” and “Haruto Yuki”. Oikawa had insisted that Iwaizumi’s alias should contain “Iwa” in it in case he slips up the name calling. It would be a failsafe, and it didn’t harm the mission in any way, so the higher ups had allowed it. 

Dinner went smoothly. Both Iwaizumi and Oikawa had obtained a few numbers from other guests who were open to ideas of business partnerships or support. They tucked those numbers into the pockets of their waistcoat and left it at that. 

Afterwards, Kozume Kenma and Kuroo Tetsurou made a speech. They were both adorned in black and red suits, which were the representative colours of the Nekoma company. They spoke about company goals and how they were interested in getting to know everyone here. Following that, everyone started to mingle; the waiters coming out with trays of champagne for the guests to enjoy. 

This was Oikawa and Iwaizumi’s cue to start snooping around. They discreetly made their way over to the east door, occasionally stopping to chat with another guest and make sure none of the staff were noticing their slow journey to the door. 

The east door was actually tucked away behind a pair of thick curtains. It looked like a relatively heavy door, so Iwaizumi and Oikawa had waited until the crowd was being particularly loud before going through it. 

The contrast in sound and light was blinding once the door closed behind them. The hallways were a dimly lit maze of poorly looked after concrete. What appeared to be the beige paint adorning the walls were peeling off, revealing the ugly grey beneath them. The floors were gritty and dusty, as if no one had done a proper clean up in months. 

It was also extremely quiet. It would be very easy to hear footsteps if one walked around carelessly. 

_“If you meet anyone, say you wanted to go out for a smoke or that you got lost on your way back from the restrooms.”_ Hanamaki’s voice sounded in their ears. They both sent out hushed whispers of confirmation before starting to make their journey to the north door that led towards the basement. 

They turned one of the corners, stepping lightly as they kept their eyes and ears peeled for any signs of someone else being around. 

“The middle of the floors aren’t as dusty or messy as the sides. I’m pretty sure people have been walking along these paths.” Oikawa murmured into the microphone. 

“Okay, I think we’re almost there.” Iwaizumi muttered quietly, flattening his hand against the wall as he leaned around the corner. Sure enough, there was a metal door labelled “STAFF” in red letters several meters down the hallway. 

“Iwa-chan. I hear footsteps.” Oikawa hissed urgently. Iwaizumi whipped around and sure enough, if he listened carefully he could hear multiple sets of footsteps that were progressively getting louder.

“Shit, what should we do? We’re a little far from the main room to be lost from a bathroom trip.” Iwaizumi scowled. His palms started to sweat, heart beating loud in his ears and pounding throughout his body. He could hear the soft, rapid tapping of Oikawa’s finger against the side of his leg as the brunet desperately tried to think of a solution.

“Iwa-chan, do you trust me?” Oikawa’s solemn voice caused Iwaizumi to look up and meet his friend’s gaze. Any hint of Oikawa’s playful demeanor was gone. Even in the dim lighting, the reflection in Oikawa’s eyes made Iwaizumi’s heart start to quicken in pace. The corners of his friend’s mouth were slightly downturned, brows furrowed minutely. Iwaizumi swallowed, his throat feeling thick as the footsteps continued to get closer. Even though they were in jeopardy, Oikawa wouldn’t go ahead with any plan until he had Iwaizumi’s agreement.

“With every cell of my body.” 

With those words, Oikawa slammed his lips onto Iwaizumi’s, drawing out a sharp gasp from the shorter male, eyes widening before fluttering shut. Oikawa's lips were soft and warm. It was better than everything he had ever imagined. Iwaizumi’s arms twitched upward before gripping onto the sleeves of Oikawa’s suit jacket harshly as he tried to regain proper thinking. 

Oikawa placed his hand on Iwaizumi’s waist, squeezing firmly and stepping forward, pressing the other against the wall. His other hand came up to caress Iwaizumi’s cheek before trailing down his neck and resting on his chest, causing him to shiver at the touch. Oikawa continued to crowd forward, to the point where their bodies were so close that Iwaizumi could feel the body heat that radiated off of his best friend. His heart thrummed loudly in his chest, and he felt as if he was melting. 

“Kiss me back. Make it steamy.” Oikawa muttered against his lips, the unusually low register of his voice sending a wave of heat through Iwaizumi’s body. It took a second for it to click in Iwaizumi’s head.

Ah. 

This was how Oikawa was going to get them out of this situation. 

Well, if this was what the universe had presented Iwaizumi with, then he would make the most out of this moment. 

Hands wrapped around his waist, tugging Iwaizumi flush against Oikawa’s chest. Iwaizumi grunted and threaded his hands up into Oikawa’s hair, tugging harshly in response. He wasn’t expecting the sharp moan that came out of his friend’s mouth, sending another flash of molten heat through his stomach. Oikawa sounded so needy and desperate, and every touch or sound that occurred only left Iwaizumi wanting more. He took the opportunity to slip his tongue inside, relishing in the harsh breaths that sounded from Oikawa. 

He felt the fingers on his chest start to move and _oh,_ Oikawa was unbuttoning his shirt. Heat pooled in Iwaizumi’s belly as he felt the deft fingers brush against his heated skin. He bit down on Oikawa’s lip, a quiet moan escaping his lips when he heard the soft whimper coming from the other man. 

The heat of their bodies, the firm press of Oikawa’s hands on his waist, the softness of Oikawa’s lips contrasting the harsh and heated kiss… 

This was hotter than all of Iwaizumi’s fantasies combined.

_“Oh my god. I did not want to see that. I wish I wasn’t born.”_ Oikawa almost flinched as he heard the voice, nearly forgetting the whole purpose of the kiss. 

“Yaku-san! What- oh…” Another voice joined the first, and Oikawa brought his hand up to cup Iwaizumi’s jaw, gripping it firmly. A breathy moan escaped his lips as Iwaizumi tugged on his hair _again_ , causing even more red to flush up Oikawa’s cheeks, because as much as he was acting for the mission, that last moan had _not_ been intentional and wow who knew Iwaizumi was such an amazing kisser-

Oikawa kept his eyes shut for the most part, not wanting to break the facade of a pent up couple going to a secluded corner to make out, but he did shift his body subtly to hopefully allow the camera on Iwaizumi’s suit button to capture the security guards behind them.

“Can they not hear us-” 

“Hey, Lev. That could be you and Yaku if you just _man up_.” 

“Inuoka, I would rather die than do that with Lev.” 

“Yaku-san-” 

“No, we’re leaving. I’m not dealing with this. I’m going to bleach my eyes.” The footsteps retreated quickly, leaving Oikawa and Iwaizumi alone once more.

Oikawa parted the kiss, leaning back slowly before opening his eyes. Iwaizumi followed Oikawa’s lips for only a split second before his eyelids fluttered open gently. Silence permeated the air, only the harsh sound of their panting interrupting it. Their eyes met for a brief moment before Oikawa flickered his gaze to the side, missing the way Iwaizumi licked his lips, continuing to admire Oikawa’s flushed form. 

Iwaizumi’s heartbeat was still loud in his ears as he tried to recover from the kiss. It was so _intense_. It was so _**hot.**_

_“That was literally the most disgusting thing I’ve ever had to experience in my life.”_ Both Oikawa and Iwaizumi flinched as Hanamaki’s voice sounded in their ears. 

“For the mission.” Oikawa muttered, still not looking Iwaizumi in the eye. Even though he knew, it was still like being drenched in a bucket of ice water hearing the words coming from Oikawa’s lips.

The lips that he had just tasted. 

It was like getting a taste of the best dish you’ve ever tasted in your entire life, only for the waiter to say that you were never allowed to have it. 

_For the mission._

Iwaizumi swallowed, buttoning up his shirt buttons once more, trying to will his fingers not to shake as he did so. He was once again reminded of the fact that his best friend was an incredibly talented actor, willing to go above and beyond to make his facades seem… real.

That was, after all, how he had become one of the top agents in Aoba Johsai. 

Iwaizumi took in a breath, his heart feeling heavy. He couldn't get the way Oikawa’s hands glided down his cheek to his chest, the way his fingers gripped his waist firmly, or the heat that radiated off of the other when they kissed, out of his mind.

_“As much as I hate to interrupt, we’re on a time limit here. Head to the basement please.”_ Matsukawa’s voice sounded in their ears. Oikawa straightened out his suit once more before walking past Iwaizumi toward the door leading to the basement. Iwaizumi quickly trailed after him. 

They went through the door and down the steps that were also extremely dimly lit, the silence hanging heavy in the air. 

The mission went by in a relatively large blur after that. Iwaizumi had difficulty focusing, his thoughts constantly straying back to how much he had _liked_ the kiss. He moved mechanically the rest of the time, and even though he knew it was going to bite him back later on when he had to fill out reports, he couldn’t bring himself to care much.

A weight sat heavy in his heart, like a stone weighing him down.

  
**\-----**  


Their superiors were ecstatic with the intel they had gathered from their mission. They had discovered that the Nekoma organization was indeed smuggling several types of illegal substances, including guns, drugs, and counterfeit money. It explained how they had suddenly grown so big and so powerful in such a short time.

There was going to be another mission to dismantle the organization in a month’s time, but thankfully neither Iwaizumi nor Oikawa were called on to participate in it. 

As much as Iwaizumi was reluctant, Oikawa had insisted that they include the kiss in their report. It was simply for formalities, and all the evidence had been recorded using their audio and video anyway. 

It only made Iwaizumi feel even worse, because Oikawa was treating it like nothing more than an asset to the mission. The way he spoke about it only caused Oikawa’s passion for his career to become even more ingrained in Iwaizumi’s brain.

Oikawa would do anything to achieve his goal of being the top agent in the world.

It had all been _for the mission_.

For the mission…

Iwaizumi was starting to loathe that phrase. 

After years and years of longing for the feel of Oikawa’s lips on his, thinking of how soft and warm they would be, how it would feel to have the other gently caress his face or have their bodies pressed together in an intimate embrace… he had finally gotten what he wanted. 

Just not in the way he had imagined. 

The nights following the mission, he couldn’t sleep. Everytime he closed his eyes, he remembered the feeling of Oikawa’s hair under his hands, the hot flush of his face turning red, and the stirrings of something more primal deep in his belly. 

An aching feeling settled in his heart as Iwaizumi stared up at the ceiling of his home.

His best friend was truly… an incredible actor.

  
**\-----**  


They had sparring practice today.

An instructor was coming to assess their skill and give them tips. There were going to be six groups sparring at once, and the instructor would walk around and examine how they fought. To say Iwaizumi was nervous was an understatement. 

He hadn’t gotten enough sleep the past few nights, and even though he was known for being the champion at sparring, he wasn’t sure how well he was going to perform today.

His first partner was someone who he had seen around, but never interacted with. It was relatively easy, his partner was rather clumsy and inexperienced. It didn’t take much to send a sweeping kick to knock his opponent off their feet and then pin them down on their back. 

His second match was with Ushijima. They fought for a while, a mix between dodging, blocking, and attacking, before Iwaizumi’s eye caught Oikawa’s lithe form on the mat behind Ushijima. His graceful moves made Iwaizumi’s heart skip a beat, and in that split second that he was distracted, Ushijima had managed to knock the wind out of him and send him sprawling on the floor. 

Iwaizumi cursed internally as Ushijima lunged to try and pin him down. Iwaizumi leaped up, meeting Ushijima halfway and using the momentum and off center balance to flip them over, causing Ushijima to land with a hard thud on his back, effectively pinning him down. Iwaizumi panted harshly as he got off of the other. Ushijima sent him a curt nod before awaiting his next match. 

His final match was with Oikawa. Dread filled his entire being as he faced the other on the mat, both of them in ready positions as they waited for their cue from the instructor.

“Don’t you dare go easy on me Iwa-chan~” Oikawa smirked, causing Iwaizumi to scowl.

“As if, Shittykawa.” 

They received their cue and Oikawa darted forward, aiming a sharp jab to Iwaizumi’s abdomen. The latter managed to catch his wrist in a painful grip inches away from his side. He sent a punch to Oikawa’s gut, which the brunet dodged rather easily.

The way Oikawa fought was mesmerizing, he was always so elegant in his movements, yet they were constantly so precise. 

Their eyes met for a brief moment, and the fierce and intense gaze set in Oikawa’s eyes had Iwaizumi faltering in his grip, allowing Oikawa to deliver a painful punch to his side. Iwaizumi stumbled backwards, and Oikawa took the opportunity to grip his wrist and sweep his leg under him, catching Iwaizumi off balance. It didn’t cause him to tumble to the floor, but it took a solid few seconds for him to regain his footing.

Oikawa gripped the front of Iwaizumi’s shirt to pull him downwards. All Iwaizumi could process was the feel of his fingers skimming across his chest, and suddenly he was thrown back to the memory of those same fingers desperately unbuttoning his shirt, dragging teasingly across his skin.

Before he knew it, Iwaizumi had the breath forced out of him as he hit the mat particularly hard, Oikawa was on top of him, his legs bracketing Iwaizumi’s own, and a surprised but delighted look on his face when he realized he had won. 

Iwaizumi turned his head to the side, trying to regain his breath as he sagged into the mat. He had faced Oikawa so many times, and he’s never lost so quickly before. He had made so many mistakes in sparring today. Usually he would be able to pin his opponent in about ten seconds flat, but even that match with Ushijima took longer than usual.

Pain still radiated from his gut where Oikawa had punched him. The instructor met Iwaizumi’s gaze for a brief moment before letting out a small ‘tsk’, shaking his head and walking away. Iwaizumi’s hands came up to cover his face, screwing his eyes shut and wishing that the floor would swallow him whole. Of course the one day the instructor was here to examine them, he had failed miserably. 

“Iwa-chan? What happened?” Oikawa’s quiet voice was full of concern as his hands brushed against Iwaizumi’s to draw them away from his face. 

Iwaizumi smacked his hands away, “nothing, just… leave me be.” Oikawa was _still_ sitting on top of him and if he didn’t get off anytime soon then Iwaizumi was going to have a heart attack. Oikawa silently got off his friend, going to retrieve his water bottle from the side of the room.

How could one kiss throw him off kilter so badly? Oikawa didn’t seem to have any trouble forgetting it and leaving it in the past, but it haunted Iwaizumi every waking moment. Everytime he had time to think, his mind drifted back to it, only making the ache in his heart hurt even more, knowing that he couldn’t have Oikawa the way he wanted.

  
**\-----**  


He avoided Oikawa for the rest of the day, not wanting to be reminded of his failure or the kiss any more. In the afternoon, Iwaizumi resorted to passing time in the training room, taking out his anger and frustration on a punching bag. His knuckles ached, red and purple, starting to become bloody. Even the white hand wrappings were starting to turn a dull crimson colour. He kept going, relishing in the pain that radiated throughout his body.

 _Stupid, stupid, stupid fuck. Why are you letting something so small fuck you up like this?_ He scolded himself harshly, gritting his teeth as his knuckles made contact with the bag again. His breathing came out in ragged breaths, his throat starting to become thick with emotion. 

Sweat dripped down the nape of his neck, the muscles in his shoulders contracting as he readied himself for another punch.

“Iwaizumi.” 

The throbbing pain in his hands felt good, like he was receiving the punishment he deserved.

_Your fault. Your stupid fault. Get it together you dumbfuck._ His mind insulted, only making him more agitated.

_**“Iwaizumi.”** _

He turned to see Matsukawa standing at the entrance to the training room. His arms faltered, hands relaxing to loose fists as he stared at his friend.

“What.” 

“What’s bothering you?” 

“Nothing.” 

“Is it Oikawa?” 

The harsh sound of his fist making impact with the punching bag made Matsukawa flinch. The bag swung from the hard force, the chains it was connected to rattling loudly as he took in the anguish on Iwaizumi’s face. His eyes were glassy and he was breathing heavily, knuckles bruised and bleeding as sweat dripped from his body onto the floor. Iwaizumi looked at Matsukawa, jaw trembling as he clenched his eyes shut, a tear slipping out and running down his face.

Matsukawa’s words died on his tongue as Iwaizumi’s body heaved. Loud, choking sobs erupted from his usually stoic friend. 

“Iwaizumi-”

“I fucking hate it! It’s my fault, it’s _my_ feelings, it’s my-” Iwaizumi broke off as another sob wracked his body. He sat on the floor, resting his arms on his knees and tilting his head down, not wanting to face Matsukawa like this. 

The other sighed, stepping closer to Iwaizumi and sitting down next to him, “You’ve been different ever since you came back from the mission. Hanamaki and I are worried for you.” 

Iwaizumi sucked in a sharp breath, closing his eyes as they ached after crying for the first time in years. His trembling hands moved to wipe at his tears, only for him to hiss in pain as his sore, bloody knuckles made contact with his face.

“You should just talk to him. This is Oikawa we’re talking about here. He wouldn’t let something as trivial as feelings get in the way of your friendship. Talking and letting it out will probably make you feel a little better.” 

“It’s not _him_ that’s the issue.” Iwaizumi sniffled, his voice quivering. Every time he saw those fingers, those lips, those eyes… it only reminded him once more of the fact that Oikawa would never like him back. 

“In any case, beating yourself up won’t do you any good. Let’s go to the infirmary.” Matsukawa patted his back, coaxing Iwaizumi to stand up. They headed to the infirmary together, Iwaizumi trying desperately to erase the evidence of his crying before exiting the room.

  
**\-----**  


“Is Iwaizumi a good kisser?”

“ _What?_ Why do you want to know, Makki? Don’t tell me you’re planning to cheat on Mattsun.” Oikawa wrinkled his nose, uncomfortable with the thought of Hanamaki thinking about Iwaizumi’s lips under any context.

“Gross. No, but you seemed to thoroughly enjoy the kiss that night.” Hanamaki raised a teasing eyebrow, a smirk plastered on his face as they walked together toward the cafeteria. 

“It was just a kiss. It got us out of a sticky situation.” Oikawa refuted.

“You’re avoiding the question.” 

“Uh huh, and what about _you_?”

“This isn’t about me?”

“I’m pretty sure you think about Mattsun’s hands a lot, right?” 

“What- no! Where did you get that from?” Hanamaki sputtered, quickly averting his gaze. He chewed on his lip as the heat slowly started to flush up his face.

“You’re a terrible liar, Makki. I bet you think about the way they feel against your skin, or the fact that Mattsun is so much _stronger_ than you and can pick you up and have his way with you.” Oikawa teased, smirking in victory as Hanamaki’s hand came up to cover his mouth, shaking his head as his cheeks blazed red.

“Fuck you.” 

“I bet Mattsun does that to you too.” 

“Shut up!” 

Hanamaki sulked the rest of the walk to the cafeteria. They met up with Matsukawa, who was already seated at the lunch table. He had his head resting on one of his hands, waiting for them so they could eat together. Oikawa saw Hanamaki’s gaze dart to Matsukawa’s hands, and promptly sent him a wink as they slid into their seats that had the other scowling at him, turning his head away and pointedly _not_ looking at Oikawa.

“Where’s Iwa-chan?” 

“He wasn’t feeling well today, he’s not joining us for lunch.” 

Oikawa looked down at his food, shoulders slumping. He hadn’t seen Iwaizumi since this morning for sparring practice, and he had seemed upset over something. 

It hurt, knowing that his best friend didn’t want to talk to him about it. They told each other everything. He couldn’t help but feel a little guilty over it, because everything could probably be traced back to the kiss they shared during their mission involving Nekoma. 

Perhaps it was his mistake, not clearly disclosing what the plan was before he had kissed his best friend. It was just a kiss though…

Wasn’t it?

After that night, Oikawa had noticed that his friend wasn’t himself. Iwaizumi came to work the following days looking pale and tired, as if he hadn’t slept a wink all night. He hadn’t mentioned anything at first, because as much as Iwaizumi wouldn’t admit it, he was a very proud person and didn’t exactly like to be fussed over and doted on.

The sparring match, perhaps? Was he sour over the fact that Oikawa had won? 

Surely not, Iwaizumi wasn’t the kind of person to be hurt over something so small.

Whatever it was, Oikawa felt that _he_ was the problem. There was a reason Iwaizumi was avoiding him, and the fact that Matsukawa knew he wasn’t joining them for lunch meant he must have met up with Iwaizumi sometime during the day. 

Either way, if the issue didn’t go away sometime soon, Oikawa was going to have to take matters into his own hands.

  
**\-----**  


Iwaizumi scowled as he lowered the gun. His aim was getting worse and worse. He clicked his tongue in irritation as he took in his results from shooting practice. His shots hit the target, but they weren’t going where he wanted them to. Only when he looked at the gun in his hands did he realize that his hands were trembling. He furrowed his brows, examining his knuckles carefully. It had been about a week since he went to the infirmary to get his knuckles treated. The purple was starting to fade, and thankfully the swelling had gone down by now.

He had roughed up his knuckles pretty badly. The nurse was rather disappointed in him and told him not to be so reckless next time. If it hadn’t been for Matsukawa intervening, it probably would have been a lot worse. 

He still avoided Oikawa as much as he could. Sometimes it was inevitable; they were called on for a small mission a few days ago, investigating a counterfeit money case that was closed pretty quickly. He tended to stay away from physical touch between him and Oikawa, and he was sure the other was noticing. He tried to keep it as normal as he could, but… it was clear his attempt wasn't good enough.

"Iwaizumi."

He turned to the sound of a voice calling his name, a spark of apprehension and annoyance going through him when he saw Ushijima's tall form standing there. 

"Ushijima-san." 

"I came to talk to you, about your performance lately." 

Iwaizumi felt his stomach drop, but he sent a sharp nod to Ushijima. The latter beckoned him to follow as he walked out of the gun range through the numerous hallways of Aoba Johsai. 

"How have you been doing? Mentally." 

"... I'm okay, I suppose. Not as good as I should be." 

"Work related issue?"

"You could say that." 

"Is it temporary?"

"... I'm going to say probably." 

"Infirmary should have a list of therapists if you need it." 

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Iwaizumi frowned, stopping to face Ushijima. The latter paused, regarding Iwaizumi with an almost bored expression. 

"Company regulations. I am required to make sure the agents are doing well. If there's an issue that can easily be fixed, it would benefit the organization immensely.” Ushijima replied. Iwaizumi looked away for a moment, letting out an exhale. 

“So, everyone’s just a tool, like a piece in a game.” 

“It is entirely up to you how you wish to view it. What’s important is that you don’t drag us down.” 

The words stung, like a stab to the heart, and Iwaizumi bit his tongue to avoid lashing out. The way everyone spoke sounded so detached, like their entire lives were dedicated for the company and the company only. They didn’t care about him. They only cared how well he was able to benefit them.

“If you can’t get yourself back together quickly, then maybe you should think of taking a break.” 

“A break?” Iwaizumi frowned, shoving his hands in his pockets, “the company doesn’t allow breaks.” 

“A permanent break.” 

“You- are you asking me to _resign_ from the company?” 

“Wouldn’t it benefit everyone? You don’t have to suffer with the weight of your declining performance, and Oikawa will no longer have to be held back by you.” Ushijima stated, and Iwaizumi felt himself freeze up at those words.

“Wh- what?” 

“Do you need me to repeat myself?” 

Iwaizumi blinked rapidly, feeling his eyes start to burn with the tears building up behind them. 

“I’m holding him back?” He whispered to himself, fists clenching. 

“Oikawa already has the potential to become the top agent in the world. Partnering up with someone else only forces him to continuously stay at their pace. If you really have his best interests at heart, then perhaps you should have thought of that before.” 

Anger exploded within Iwaizumi’s body like a bomb going off, his hands starting to tremble from the intensity of it.

“You think that I haven’t!? I’ve been his friend for our entire lives! Of course I care about him and want the best for him!” 

_“Then resign.”_

The world felt like it was crumbling around him. He gritted his teeth and took a deep breath, mulling over Ushijima’s words.

“I’ve only been Oikawa’s partner for a year, but even I can see how dedicated he is. He has a drive like no other to reach the top. It’s rather admirable.” Ushijima mentioned, looking off into the distance. 

It was like the final cog in a gear system had been set in place. Iwaizumi’s eyes widened, looking at Ushijima in bewilderment. 

_Oh._

Ushijima _liked_ Oikawa. 

Everything made sense now, the constant goading and checking up on their progress… 

“So if you really care for him… you’ll do anything to help him achieve his dreams, won’t you?” Ushijima challenged, raising an eyebrow. His words left a sour tang in the back of Iwaizumi’s throat. He looked at the other with a dead serious expression, because as much as he loved working here, he would give everything up to see Oikawa be happy. 

He would sacrifice his life if it meant Oikawa got to achieve his dreams.

“Of course.”

  
**\-----**  


Nothing was getting better.

Iwaizumi was still avoiding him, and even from a distance Oikawa could tell that whatever caused him to be upset was still prominent on his mind. 

In fact, everything seemed to only be getting _worse_. On top of avoiding him, Iwaizumi had appeared to be avoiding Matsukawa and Hanamaki as well, which was weird. Oikawa had thought that _he_ was the issue here, but now he was just confused. 

He wanted to ask so badly, but he was afraid that confronting his best friend would only cause the other to brush him off and close himself up to the world around him even more than he was already.

He had tried before. He had wanted to talk to Iwaizumi throughout the past week, but the latter didn’t seem keen in conversing with him, only communicating to write reports. Even then, there was no more playful banter or smart quips that would usually come out of his friend whenever they worked together.

It was like he was a completely different person. 

He silently cursed his best friend for being so stubborn and independent. He knew Iwaizumi had a heart of gold. He was always tending to everyone whenever he could, and sometimes he forgot to take care of himself too. 

Iwaizumi had stopped joining them for lunch. Oikawa had asked him about it, but he had said he wanted to stay in the office and finish up some more work. It wasn’t unlike Iwaizumi to be a mild workaholic, but he had never skipped out lunch with them for work. Not to mention Oikawa didn’t understand _what_ work needed to be done. They had the same amount of work for the most part, and Oikawa had been managing just fine, so why did Iwaizumi suddenly need extra time? 

When he had asked Mastukawa and Hanamaki if they knew anything, they both shook their heads. Apparently the past few days, Iwaizumi had been acting rather distant to everyone. Now, more than ever, Oikawa was missing the sound of his best friend’s laughter, the way his brow furrowed or the crinkling of his nose whenever he disapproved of the stupid things they said. 

He missed the sound of his voice calling him an idiot and berating him for saying stupid things, because no matter how many times Iwaizumi insulted him, Oikawa knew he really and truly cared about him. 

He even missed seeing his friend’s stupid hairstyle, knowing that even though it looked spiky and intimidating, his hair was soft and fluffy, just like his true personality. Iwaizumi never showed it much, but a few times when it was just them, alone, sometimes he would soften up with the widest grin on his face, where his eyes got all squinty and teary because he was so happy, or the times where he laughed so hard he cried, clutching at his stomach as it ached with the effort, surrounding Oikawa with his wonderful peals of laughter. It felt like he was baring his soul to Oikawa, and it was such a special feeling because it had only occurred a handful of times. 

Honestly, Iwaizumi looked and acted like a big brute sometimes, with an intimidating scowl and all his scary muscles… but Oikawa knew that on the inside he was like a giant teddy bear. 

Iwaizumi had been by his side since they were kids. Sure, they had fights here and there, but it had never gotten this bad before. The knowledge that he could _lose_ him like this had Oikawa terrified. 

The thought of him being the cause that drove Iwaizumi to leave the job he loved dearly tugged at his heart in agony.

He was going to figure out what was wrong, and he was going to get his best friend back.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ao3 formatting wants to kill me

Two days later was when everything went to shit. 

Oikawa and Iwaizumi had their desks side by side in the office since they were partners. Oikawa was busy working, typing away on his computer, when Iwaizumi had stood up to go to the bathroom. 

It was nothing out of the ordinary. After hours of sitting and filling out paperwork, one would need to take a break, or go for a walk. 

The movement caused Oikawa to turn and look over at his friend, just catching his retreating form as he walked out of the room. As he was about to turn back to his work, a piece of paper caught his eye, stuck under a pile of folders. Usually he wouldn’t care, but he picked it up, his eyes skimming over the words before he felt his heart drop and shatter all over the floor.

_Please accept this letter as a formal notice of my resignation from the Aoba Johsai company. My last day of employment will be October 12th._

_I would like to thank you for the wonderful opportunities I have been provided working here at Aoba Johsai. My full cooperation and commitment will be provided for the smooth transition of my resignation, including passing on required responsibilities to other members of this company._

_Once again, thank you very much for the experience at Aoba Johsai. All the best for the future._

_Sincerely,_

_Iwaizumi Hajime_

Oikawa couldn’t move. He couldn’t think. All he could do was feel the betrayal and anguish filling his body. His heart physically ached, his jaw starting to tremble as the pin prickling of tears made itself known behind his eyes. He felt like he was falling, plummeting down to the depths of despair.

 **“Why are you looking through my things.”** Oikawa looked up to see Iwaizumi’s angry scowl towering over him.

“Iwa-chan-” He began, standing up to face him on shaky legs.

“No. Don’t say anything.” 

“You _can’t_ resign! Why didn’t you tell me anything-” 

“ **Oikawa.** I don’t need you to make a scene. This is my decision, not yours.” 

Oikawa’s grip faltered, letting the letter slip out of his fingertips and float gently to the floor. His hands were shaking as he looked at Iwaizumi with teary eyes. 

“I thought we were friends.” 

Iwaizumi’s jaw tightened, his expression only getting more murderous, and Oikawa knew he had said something wrong.

“We are friends.” Iwaizumi said scathingly, as if the title of ‘friends’ burned him every time he said it. It had Oikawa clenching his shaky fists, wondering if maybe Iwaizumi didn’t _want_ to be friends with him anymore.

“Friends _tell_ each other things, Iwa-chan! Important things! Like if you’re planning on _quitting your job!_ ” Oikawa’s voice broke at the end of his sentence. He swallowed painfully, breathing coming out shakily. 

“I’m not talking about this with you.” Iwaizumi muttered, sitting down at his desk, not sparing Oikawa another glance. Oikawa sat down heavily in his chair, covering his mouth and blinking rapidly as he tried to keep his tears at bay. 

Iwaizumi didn’t want to work here anymore? 

After they had dreamed about this since they were children? 

He covered his face with his hands, wiping away the wetness at his eyes. Did Oikawa fuck up so bad that Iwaizumi would throw away his dreams just to get away from him? 

Was it really because of that kiss? 

Maybe it had disgusted Iwaizumi so much that he couldn’t bear looking Oikawa in the eyes anymore, didn’t want to be around him because every time he saw Oikawa’s pitiful face he was reminded of that incident.

It hurt to think about. 

Oikawa had enjoyed the kiss. Iwaizumi was a good kisser. He had kept it formal after that because he was afraid that Iwaizumi would think he wanted something more out of it.

To be honest, he did. Oikawa didn’t want to put a label on the kind of relationship he wanted to have with Iwaizumi yet, but he knew that if the offer was on the table, he would take as much as he could. 

In any case, Iwaizumi wasn’t going to talk about it. Oikawa knew that his friend could be as stubborn as a brick, so he left the other alone, wallowing in his own sadness and shock. 

During lunch, Iwaizumi didn’t join them again.

“Did you guys know Iwa-chan wanted to resign?” 

“What? No.” Hanamaki’s eyebrows were raised in surprise, and Mastukawa stopped mid-bite to stare at Oikawa.

“Are you shitting me?”

“No. I saw his resignation letter this morning.” 

“What the fuck. He didn’t say anything.” Matsukawa’s brow furrowed in worry, chewing on his lip as he re-examined the past few weeks. He knew Iwaizumi was sad and upset over his feelings with Oikawa, but he wasn’t the kind of person to do something as drastic as _resign_ without telling anyone. 

“There has to be some reason he would do this. He’s been here for _eight years_. There’s no way he would just leave like this.” Oikawa declared.

Hanamaki tapped his chin with his finger, “now that I think about it, I saw Iwaizumi talking to Ushijima a few days ago. They seemed to be having a serious conversation, but Ushijima is his superior, so I figured it was just a work thing.” 

“He _what?!_ ” Oikawa snarled, causing Hanamaki and Matsukawa to flinch at the sudden intensity of his voice.

“Uh…” 

“That fucking bastard! He probably caused Iwa-chan to resign, I fucking know he did. He hates him, wanted a way to get rid of him. Going to give him a piece of my mind-” Oikawa muttered, his speech making less and less sense as he went on. He stood up abruptly and started to march off.

“Hey- Oikawa! Don’t jump to conclusions!” Matsukawa barked out, standing up to go and stop his friend. Oikawa turned around with a deathly glare that made him freeze.

“I won’t. I’m just going to have a nice talk with Ushijima. Don’t bother trying to stop me.” With that, he spun around and continued storming through the building in search of Ushijima. Matsukawa let out a sigh, his shoulders sagging.

“Let’s go find Iwaizumi.” Hanamaki muttered. Matsukawa nodded in agreement.

  
**\-----**  


“Ushijima!” Oikawa snapped, nearly slamming the door open. The person in question turned around to look at Oikawa.

“Oikawa, what a nice surprise. How can I help you?” 

“You bastard! You caused Iwa-chan to try and resign, didn’t you?” 

Ushijima glanced at some of the other horrified co-workers before letting out a small sigh, standing up. 

“Let’s talk outside.” 

Oikawa begrudgingly followed Ushijima outside of the building where it was quieter and there weren’t people around.

“Did you ask Iwa-chan to resign?”

“Perhaps.”

“Per- _Perhaps?!_ The FUCK do you mean PERHAPS?! WHY?!” Oikawa shouted, his rage encompassing his entire body. His hands were balled into fists so tight that his blunt fingernails dug painfully into the palm of his hand. 

“His performance was deteriorating. He was holding you back-” 

“WHAT IN THE FUCKING FUCK DO YOU MEAN HE WAS HOLDING ME BACK?! EVER SINCE WE WERE PAIRED TOGETHER WE HAVE DONE NOTHING BUT _EXCEL_ AT THIS JOB! WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!” Oikawa yelled so hard that his throat was beginning to hurt. Before he knew what he was doing, his fist was swinging out to connect with Ushijima’s face.

A strong hand caught his wrist, the loud _smack_ permeating the air. Ushijima regarded him coolly.

“You are not in the right of mind. We should leave this for a later date-” 

“Fuck that! If you think I’m going to want to see your face again you’d be sorely mistaken! Iwa-chan is going to destroy that letter when I’m done with him. All of our mission statistics have only gone up since we’ve been paired together, so _no._ He’s not holding me back.” 

“If he keeps up his current behaviour, he will be.” 

“It’s none of your business! All you care about is the company. How many missions we are completing, or how many new agents are recruited. Not everything is about numbers. Sometimes, one life is worth more than the entire company.” Oikawa spat, glowering at Ushijima. He lifted his chin, fixed the other with a steely gaze once more, before turning around and marching back into the building. 

Ushijima watched Oikawa’s retreating form, waiting until he had disappeared from sight before the corners of his lips turned up ever so slightly.

_Sometimes, one life is worth more than the entire company._

With those words, Ushijima knew he had lost.

Because he realized that Oikawa Tooru was hopelessly, utterly in love with Iwaizumi Hajime.

  
**\-----**  


Oikawa was panicking that he had fucked up again.

He had really just tried to punch Ushijima. 

His _superior_.

He could be fired. 

Taking a deep breath, he smoothed his palms out on his shirt, trying to get rid of the sweatiness. Even if he lost his career, as long as he had Iwaizumi by his side, then everything would be fine. 

He clenched his fists tightly as a wave of emotion flooded him. That talk with Ushijima had rattled him to his core. He had not anticipated getting so angry over a few words that the other had said. Even if he wasn’t always the most cool-headed person, it really took something earth-shattering to get him that angry.

It was only when he was almost back inside the building that he figured it out.

Why he had lost his temper so easily with Ushijima, and why whenever Ushijima mentioned Iwaizumi, it was like a thorn in Oikawa’s side. 

He loved him. 

A small smile graced his lips as he felt himself beginning to relax, fingers uncurling from his fist. 

He loved Iwaizumi. 

He was _in love_ with Iwaizumi.

What kind of love, Oikawa wasn’t entirely sure. All he knew was that he wanted Iwaizumi by his side day and night, through thick and thin, and if kisses, cuddles, and dates were on the table? He wanted that too. 

Which was why he was even more determined to stop him from resigning. 

They were still on work hours, so Oikawa couldn’t confront Iwaizumi at this moment, but he was determined to catch him on their way home and have a proper talk. 

He didn’t see Iwaizumi for the rest of the day, but Hanamaki had texted him saying he and Matsukawa had met up with Iwaizumi and tried to talk to him. They didn’t get much out of him, but it seemed like the resignation was hurting Iwaizumi too, as if he didn’t exactly want to go through with it, only further proving that Ushijima had been behind the incident.

When they clocked out, Oikawa waited at the front like usual to walk home with Iwaizumi. He waited several minutes before he caught a glimpse of Iwaizumi’s figure on the sidewalk a few meters ahead of him. He must have taken a different door to avoid Oikawa. 

It left Oikawa feeling slightly bitter, but he understood that after this morning’s incident in their office, Iwaizumi probably wanted to steer clear of Oikawa as much as he could. 

“Iwa-chan!” He called out, starting to run towards the other male. Iwaizumi stopped in his tracks before slowly turning around, sighing as he saw Oikawa running towards him. The one person he really did not want to see today.

“Oikawa.” He greeted. Oikawa slowed down as he caught up to Iwaizumi, sending him a small smile. 

“I wanted to talk to you-” Oikawa began as they started walking toward the station. 

“If this is about my resignation, then forget it.” 

“I talked to Ushijima-!” 

“You-” Iwaizumi turned to Oikawa, his eyes wide in shock before quickly turning into irritation, “Stay out of it.” 

“How can I? When it’s something as big as this?”

“Can’t you just respect my decision?” 

Oikawa let out an affronted noise, scowling as he stepped in front of Iwaizumi, blocking his path from going any further. Iwaizumi crossed his arms, pursing his lips as he stared at Oikawa.

“You don’t have the full story yet.” 

“Don’t need it.” 

“Iwa-chan, why can’t you just _listen_ this one time? It’s important.” Oikawa frowned. Iwaizumi scoffed before trying to step around Oikawa, who followed his steps and blocked him once more.

“Let me pass. The train will leave.” 

“The train comes every five minutes.” 

“Let me go, Oikawa,” Iwaizumi demanded, taking a step forward. When Oikawa didn’t budge, he dodged around Oikawa quickly, managing to pass the other.

Oikawa’s arm shot out to grip Iwaizumi’s wrist, causing the other male to jerk backwards before turning around and trying to shake his hand off to no avail.

“Let _go,_ Shittykawa.” 

“Not until you _listen_ to me!”

Iwaizumi continued to struggle in Oikawa’s grip, using his other hand to try and pry him off. Oikawa gripped Iwaizumi’s shirt and pulled him downwards towards the grass next to the sidewalk. He forgot that there was a hill next to the sidewalk, and Oikawa’s unrelenting grip on Iwaizumi’s wrist sent them both tumbling down the grassy slope. 

It took a few moments for the world to stop spinning, but when Iwaizumi’s vision cleared properly, his back was flat against the ground. His best friend was on top of him, fists gripping the front of his shirt harshly. He looked crazy, with his intense, furious gaze combined with all the leaves and sticks in his hair as well as the crumbs of dirt on his face. Iwaizumi knew he probably looked just as bad, but even in the light of the evening sunset, Oikawa still looked as breathtaking as he always did.

The sunlight bounced off his wavy hair, turning it a brighter brown than it usually was. The light reflected off of his eyes that were so full of anguish, to the point that Iwaizumi could almost see the sunset in his eyes. 

It wasn’t fair. 

It wasn’t fair that everytime he looked at Oikawa’s beautiful face, he was reminded how his friend would never love him back. Every time his lips moved when he spoke, Iwaizumi was reminded of how they felt against his own, or how those gentle fingers were able to make him feel like jelly with just a few touches. 

Iwaizumi inhaled heavily as he tried to steady his breathing. Oikawa nearly growled, lifting his fists that were still gripping Iwaizumi’s shirt. 

“Listen to me. You are _not_ dragging me down, no matter what Ushijima says. You are my best friend, and the only person I have truly bared my soul to. I have known you my entire life, and I’m not going to let Ushijima get in the way of that! I want you by my side for the rest of my life, so whatever I did to piss you off, just tell me… please.” Oikawa’s voice broke on the last word, tears starting to pool in his eyes. 

Iwaizumi looked forlornly at his best friend, emotion surging through him like a tsunami flooding a city. 

“It’s not you that’s the issue-” 

“Then what is it? _Hajime,_ please. I’m not going to lose you like this. I know you love your job, so why? Why are you so willing to throw it all away-” 

_“Because I love you!”_ Iwaizumi shouted, inhaling sharply as he realized what he had just done. His breath caught in his throat as he stared fearfully at Oikawa, whose eyes were as wide as saucers. 

Iwaizumi scrunched his eyes shut, slapping his hands over his face as he dwelled in his own embarrassment.

He had never planned to confess to Oikawa. Ever. 

As they grew up, it became clear to Iwaizumi that Oikawa had a passion for his career like no other. The brunet had almost always put work first, but it was obvious that he loves what he does. 

He hadn’t wanted to tie his friend down with a relationship. Oikawa was incredibly ambitious, and a relationship would only take up his time that could be allotted to his career. He had a tendency to overwork himself, and with the way Oikawa’s lifestyle was right now, Iwaizumi was pretty sure they wouldn’t have time to go on dates or spend much time with each other outside of work.

He also didn’t need Oikawa to worry about him whenever they were on a mission, because as much as he didn’t like admitting it, the higher ups from Aoba Johsai had a point when they were reluctant to pair them up due to their prior connection. It was mildly similar to what they had now, except with the label of a relationship, Iwaizumi feared that the worry would only be amplified. 

Iwaizumi was more than willing to lay down his life if it meant Oikawa got his happy ending, and everything was going so well for his friend. He didn’t want to screw it up with the prospect of dating.

In the end, it was all ruined with a kiss anyway.

A kiss that would have been nothing if Iwaizumi hadn’t let his emotions take over, hadn’t allowed his feelings to affect his work performance.

It was his fault that they were in this entire mess. 

His fault that Oikawa was worried about him.

His fault that Oikawa was _unhappy._

Fuck.

“What?” Oikawa breathed out, still staring. The hands fisted in his shirt relaxed their grip, moving up to draw Iwaizumi’s hands away from his face.

“Fuck. Fucking forget it-” 

“No, tell me Iwa-chan. Did you mean it?” 

“I-” Iwaizumi turned his head away, unable to meet Oikawa’s gaze.

“Iwa-chan.” 

“...” 

“ _Hajime,_ did you mean what you said?” 

Iwaizumi nearly flinched at the use of his given name. He closed his eyes before jerkily nodding his head, not wanting to know what Oikawa’s reaction was going to be. 

It came as a complete shock to him when he felt Oikawa grip his face and slam his lips against his own, much like he had done back at Nekoma. His eyes flew open, mouth parting in surprise, letting out a sharp gasp as Oikawa’s tongue slipped into his mouth. It took a second before his hands came up to violently shove Oikawa off of him. 

The brunet sat up, his eyes alight with an emotion Iwaizumi couldn’t place, but his hair was wildly messy, spit coating his lips as he grinned, tongue darting out to lick at his lips. His warm hands rested on Iwaizumi’s chest, and he suddenly realized the feel of Oikawa practically straddling his lap.

“What the fuck was that?” He asked hotly, cheeks starting to burn. Oikawa grinned even wider, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

“I love you too.” 

What.

What the fuck.

“You-” Iwaizumi was cut off by Oikawa’s breathy laugh, hands coming to cup his face once more, leaning down.

“I love you, Hajime.” Oikawa declared once more, gazing into the other’s eyes. Iwaizumi stared at him for a few moments before roughly tugging Oikawa’s face to meet his own, their mouths meeting passionately. 

All of their pent up emotions over the past eight years were poured into the kiss. Oikawa let out a soft moan as Iwaizumi bit down on his lip, tugging at it teasingly before letting it go. Iwaizumi threaded his fingers through the softness of Oikawa’s hair, tugging on it because the latter seemed to enjoy it last time. He was rewarded as Oikawa was pulled back from the force of the tug, letting out a soft gasp. 

Oikawa leaned back slightly so they could gaze into each other’s eyes and catch their breaths, savouring the feeling of being pressed against each other, legs tangled together as if nothing else mattered in the world except them.

“Were you seriously going to resign because you loved me? Hajime, how does that even work?” Oikawa smiled gently, brushing a stray hair out of Iwaizumi’s face. 

“I thought I was slowing you down, and after the whole kiss at Nekoma I just felt like shit because I thought you would never love me back.” 

“You never slow me down,” Oikawa pressed a soft kiss to the tip of Iwaizumi’s nose, “I couldn’t live without you.” 

“I should’ve known you’d be the sappiest thing on earth.” Iwaizumi groaned, a content smile on his face. 

“Even more sappy than Mattsun?” 

“Oh god, we’ll have to see about that one. I don’t think anyone can top Matsukawa in that department.” 

They both laughed as they got up, dusting themselves off and walking to the station, fingers intertwined and shoulders brushing, sharing gentle smiles and fond looks.

  
**\-----**  


The next morning, Iwaizumi entered his office, promptly took his letter of resignation, and shredded it. Oikawa was delighted, clinging to his newfound boyfriend the entire time. He constantly chattered about how happy he was that Iwa-chan was now _his_.

Iwaizumi was also satisfied. He got to keep his job, which he truly enjoyed doing, and on top of that he got to finally call Oikawa his own, something he had been yearning to do for so long.

His only remorse was that Oikawa was extremely affectionate in public. He basically refused to let go of Iwaizumi, saying how he needed to make up for all the wasted time he could have spent being in a relationship with him. As embarrassing as it was, Iwaizumi couldn’t deny the warm, fluttery feelings he got whenever Oikawa pressed a chaste kiss to his lips or his nose or his forehead randomly throughout the day. 

Honestly, Oikawa was practically up to par with Matsukawa in terms of how sappy they were. The both of them never hesitated to shower their significant other with affection, although Matsukawa tended to leave the touches and kisses for more private moments.

Matsukawa loved to tell Hanamaki how gorgeous he looked everyday. He loved seeing how embarrassed and happy his boyfriend got whenever he was under the onslaught of compliments. Every time it was Valentine’s or the day of their anniversary, Matsukawa went all out with flowers, gifts, and a special date planned. When they were alone, or if it was just the four of them, Matsukawa never hesitated to initiate physical contact, whether it be holding hands, giving his boyfriend gentle kisses, or practically cuddling Hanamaki to death.

Oikawa had a tendency to demand kisses from Iwaizumi whenever possible. If the latter refused, he would steal kisses anyway. He liked to cling to Iwaizumi’s arm or hold his hand, providing teasing compliments and being his very flirty self. When it was just the two of them, Oikawa was a lot quieter, but was always up for cuddles and physical contact. He was a very good sweet talker, but fortunately Iwaizumi had become immune to his charm after years of dealing with him, which was always something that made Oikawa pout and whine playfully. 

Even though Iwaizumi and Hanamaki weren’t as sappy or affectionate as their counterparts, it didn’t mean they loved them any less. They showed love in their own ways, and even though it may not be as often, their significant others knew it was still just as genuine. 

Word of their relationship had spread rather quickly, mainly because Oikawa never bothered to keep it a secret. Some of the higher ups had started to oppose them working together, insisting that their relationship was going to ruin their dynamic. 

To their utmost surprise, it was Ushijima who had defended them, saying that their connection was what made them one of the most exceptional pairs of secret agents. He had pointed out that their relationship allowed their passions to thrive, and that if the higher ups tried to split them up, it would only make their performance worse.

Ushijima had sent them both a nod before walking out, leaving them both stunned, and oddly flattered. This entire time, Ushijima had been on the forefront of those who were against their partnership. The sudden change in attitude had both of them reeling in shock, but it was definitely not unwelcome. 

After that, Oikawa and Iwaizumi had only proved themselves even further, rising up to the top of the leaderboard in performance and statistics. 

A year later, Ushijima retired from the secret agent field, moving onto focus on management studies for the company. Iwaizumi had quietly wondered if Ushijima was giving up his position so that Oikawa could become the top agent, but he had insisted that he had transferred because he had preferred the management aspect of this career. Even as he had said so, Iwaizumi saw the sad smile on his face whenever he saw Oikawa and Iwaizumi go out on the field to work.

Oikawa became the number one agent in Aoba Johsai, clearing through the most missions each year with stellar performances. 

Everything was worth it as Iwaizumi watched Oikawa accept the award for the top agent at the end of the year. He watched with a proud smile as Oikawa cried his heart out when he found out. 

Everything was worth it when they bought their first shared apartment, taking time off their work to decorate the house together, laughing and bickering about whether the walls should be white or a slight grey-blue colour.

Everything was worth it years later when Iwaizumi woke up everyday with Tooru's face next to his own, watching his fiancé’s hair flutter ever so gently whenever he breathed. 

And everything was absolutely worth it, when they finally got married. Watching Tooru's teary eyed smile as he read out his vows and said ‘I do’, being forced to do some stupid wedding dance with his now husband as all the guests cheered for them. 

Everything was worth it, because in the end, both of them were happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: when Ushijima transferred to the management department he worked really hard to slowly change the company to be more catered to their employees. That's why Iwaizumi mentioned that the company didn't allow breaks in the story, but later on when they were decorating their apartment together they were allotted time off :)


End file.
